Is your scarab real? For most buyers the honest answer depends on what "real" means. An ancient Egyptian scarab is carved stone or glazed steatite, worn smooth by three thousand years. An Egyptian Revival scarab is a 19th- or 20th-century jewel that borrows the form, and is a genuine antique in its own right. Below we explain both, and how to tell carving from moulding, old glaze from new, and a period setting from a modern one.
In brief
- Ancient scarabs were seals and amulets, mostly glazed steatite, faience or hardstone.
- Egyptian Revival jewellery came in three great waves: Napoleon, the 1860s and Tutankhamun in 1922.
- A real carved scarab shows tool marks and honest wear; a moulded copy shows seams, bubbles and soft detail.
- A revival jewel is a genuine antique even when its scarab is not ancient. What matters is an honest description.
What is a scarab, and why did the Egyptians wear them?
The scarab is the dung beetle, Scarabaeus sacer. Egyptians watched it roll its ball of dung across the sand and saw the sun god Khepri pushing the sun across the sky each morning. The beetle became a symbol of renewal, rebirth and the daily return of light, and one of the most widely worn amulets of the ancient world.
From the Middle Kingdom, around 2000 BC, scarabs doubled as seals. The domed back was carved as the beetle; the flat underside carried a name, a title, a god or a protective phrase, ready to press into clay. Most were made of steatite, a soft stone carved and then fired with a blue or green glaze. Others were faience, glass, or hardstones such as carnelian, amethyst, jasper and lapis lazuli.
Many were pierced lengthways and mounted on a wire hoop so they could turn, showing the beetle outwards and the seal inwards. This is the swivel ring, and it is the ancestor of nearly every scarab ring that followed. Our Victorian Scarab Swivel Ring revives exactly that idea: a carved green scarab, probably steatite or glazed composition, with hieroglyph-style markings underneath, turning in an 18K gold bezel.
Scarabs beyond Egypt: the Etruscan carnelians
The form travelled. Phoenician and Greek workshops carved scarabs for their own markets, and by the 6th century BC the Etruscans of central Italy were cutting superb carnelian scarabs with Greek heroes engraved on the base. These are among the finest small carvings of the ancient world, and they were collected avidly in the 18th century.
The most famous is the Gemma Stosch, an Etruscan carnelian scarab of about 500–480 BC showing five of the Seven Against Thebes, now in Berlin. Grand Tour travellers bought glass copies of such gems as souvenirs. Our Gemma Stosch Glass Intaglio Ring sets a late 18th-century red glass paste copy of it in a later gold ring, proof that a scarab can be honoured without being ancient. Our guide to intaglio rings covers these Grand Tour pastes in more detail.
Three waves of Egyptomania
Egyptian Revival jewellery is not one style but several, each set off by a moment when Egypt seized the European imagination. Knowing which wave a piece belongs to is the quickest way to date it.
Napoleon and the Regency, c.1798–1830
Napoleon's Egyptian campaign of 1798–1801 took scholars as well as soldiers, and their great Description de l'Égypte was published from 1809. Champollion's decipherment of hieroglyphs in 1822 added fresh excitement. Sphinxes, obelisks and lotus palmettes appeared on furniture and silver; in jewellery the influence was mostly decorative and classical in feel.
Mariette, Ahhotep and the Victorians, c.1859–1880s
The second wave was archaeological. In 1859 Auguste Mariette uncovered the gold-filled burial of Queen Ahhotep at Thebes, and its jewels were shown in Paris in 1867. The Suez Canal opened in 1869. Goldsmiths responded with scarabs, lotus flowers, winged discs and granulated gold in the "archaeological" taste.
Our Victorian scarab ring, with its wire-wrapped and textured shoulders, sits squarely in this moment. Pieces of the period often reuse genuinely ancient scarabs bought by travellers in Egypt; just as often, the scarab was carved or moulded for the jewel. Both are authentic Victorian jewellery. You can browse more of the period in our Victorian jewellery collection.
Tutankhamun and Art Deco, 1922 onwards
Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun's tomb in November 1922, and Egyptomania became a worldwide craze. Scarabs, lotus flowers, papyrus and pharaohs flooded fashion and the decorative arts. The Parisian houses translated them into Art Deco's language of bold geometry and strong colour.
Our Art Deco Rotating Scarab Ring is a fine example. Made in France in the 1920s, its sculptural 18K gold scarab is set with calibre cut sapphires and swivels in the ancient manner. It also opens to reveal a hidden compartment, and the reverse is engraved with the monogram "MV" where an Egyptian would have cut hieroglyphs.
The lotus, Egyptian symbol of creation and rebirth, was the other great motif of the period. In our Art Deco Lotus Diamond Ring, a French platinum ring of the mid-1920s, what first looks like an hourglass resolves into two diamond lotus flowers facing outwards around a cultured pearl. It makes an unusual alternative engagement ring. Our Art Deco jewellery guide explains the wider style.
How to tell if a scarab is real
Whether you are looking at a ring, a pendant or a scarab bracelet, the questions are the same. Is the scarab carved or moulded? What is it made of? Does its wear make sense? And is the setting as old as the description claims? No single test is conclusive, so look at everything together.
Carved or moulded?
Under a loupe, a carved scarab shows tiny tool marks, slightly uneven lines and crisp edges where the cutter changed direction. A moulded scarab, in glass, resin or composition, has soft rounded detail, a faint seam around the edge, and sometimes small bubbles in the surface. If several scarabs on one piece are identical down to the last leg, they were almost certainly cast.
Material and glaze
Ancient glazed steatite usually wears first on the high points, revealing a pale grey or white body beneath the colour. Hardstones feel cool and heavy and take a high polish; glass warms quickly in the hand and may show conchoidal chips, like a shell. Plastic and resin feel noticeably light. A uniform, chalky "ancient" patina sitting in the recesses but nowhere else can be applied rather than earned.
The underside
The base is where the beetle becomes a seal. Ancient bases are cut with hieroglyphs, figures or decorative scrolls, and even ancient engravers sometimes used meaningless pseudo-hieroglyphs, so odd signs are not proof of a fake. Be more wary of blurred, shallow designs, or a base that has been left blank where the rest of the scarab claims great age.
Wear, piercing and setting
Real age leaves logical wear: softened edges on the legs and head, and a smoothed piercing where a wire or cord turned for centuries. Then look at the mount. Gold should test to the stated carat, and a hallmark or French eagle's head mark helps date it. On a bracelet, check links, clasp and safety chain for consistent age and colour; a modern clasp is not a fault, but it should be described.
Ancient, revival or modern: buying with confidence
The real question is not "is it real?" but "is it what the description says?" A Victorian ring with a 19th-century scarab is entirely genuine; a "Pharaonic" scarab bought on a whim online, with no detail, may be neither ancient nor old. Ask the dealer to state the date of the scarab and of the setting separately, the materials, the weight, any tests or marks, and the condition.
At Ravensbury our listings set out those details, and we describe each piece as we find it, including where a stone is "probably" one material rather than certainly another. That candour is worth more than any certificate. If you are buying antique jewelry from abroad, our guide to buying antique rings online covers sizing and wearability too.
Egypt beyond the scarab
For those drawn to Egypt itself, the story does not end with the pharaohs. Medieval Cairo was home to some of the most accomplished goldsmiths of the Islamic world. Our Fatimid Dynasty Gold Star Ring, 11th century and probably made in Cairo, has a hollow six-pointed star head built entirely from wire and sheet gold, picked out with granulation and once filled with enamel and ringed with seed pearls.
It is a different Egypt from the one the Victorians and the Art Deco jewellers imagined, but every bit as rewarding. You will find more early pieces in our ancient rings collection, and scarab and swivel seals among our signet rings and Art Deco jewellery.
Frequently asked questions
What does a scarab symbolise in jewellery?
In ancient Egypt the scarab stood for Khepri, the rising sun, and so for renewal, rebirth and protection. Victorian and Art Deco wearers added a sense of mystery and lost civilisation. Today it is usually given as a talisman of good fortune and new beginnings.
Are Victorian scarab rings made with ancient scarabs?
Some are. Travellers often brought home genuine ancient scarabs and had them set in gold. Many others were carved or moulded in the 19th century for the jewel. Both are authentic Egyptian Revival jewellery, but the description should say which you are buying.
How can I tell if a scarab bracelet is real gold?
Look for a hallmark or carat stamp on the clasp or a link, and ask the dealer how the gold was tested. Consistent colour and wear across links, clasp and settings is reassuring; a mismatched clasp suggests a later repair, which should be disclosed.
Can you wear an antique scarab ring every day?
Hardstone and gold scarabs wear well with sensible care. Glazed steatite, faience and glass are softer, so keep them away from knocks, hand cream and chemicals, and take the ring off for gardening, gym work and washing up.